Photograph:
IAI Heron A45-353 at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, VIC in March 2011 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
Israel
Description:
Un-manned aerial surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle
Power Plant:
One 86 kw (115 hp) Rotax 914 four-cylinder turbocharged horizontally-opposed liquid-and-air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 16.6 m (54 ft 5 in)
- Length: 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
- Max speed: 207 km/h (130 mph)
- Rate of climb: 492 m/min (1500 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 10,000 (32,800 ft)
- Range: 3,300 km (2,063 miles)
- Max take-off weight: 1,150 kg (2,530 lb)
History:
The Heron, or Machatz-1, was an un-manned aerial vehicle developed by the Malat Division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to fulfil the role of medium altitude long-endurance operations in the Middle East, being able to fly at altitudes up to 10,668 m (35,000 ft) and remain in the air for up to 52 hours. The machine navigated using an internal GPS receiver and was either pre-programmed for its flight profile in which it was fully autonomous from take-off to landing, or was manually controlled from a ground station. It had automatic launch and recovery, and all-weather capability. It carried an array of sensors, including infra-red and visible-light surveillance, intelligence systems, etc. It was capable of target acquisition and artillery adjustment.
On 29 June 2007 a Heron I was registered as VH-BRD (c/n 046), at that time being demonstrated to the Australian military, this being followed by VH-BJJ (c/n 169) in April 2008, both machines being registered to Israel Aircraft Industries. In 2009 the Australian Defence Minister announced that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was leasing Canadian-owned IAI Herons to provide “high resolution ISR capabilities for Australian forces in Afghanistan” under Project Nankeen.
The first Heron for the RAAF, A45-262, was delivered on 10 December 2009, being followed by A45-254 obtained under lease from MacDonald Dettweiler & Associates of Canada. These two machines were operated from Kandahar in Afghanistan by No 5 Flight RAAF as part of ‘Operation Slipper’, while another was used for training purposes in Australia. Other Herons were A45-253, A45-265 and A45-274. On 4 June 2010 the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper reported a Heron crashed short of the airfield at Kandahar substantially damaging the aircraft and the equipment in the machine. Reports indicated another was lost in an accident during initial training in Canada.
Between 2010 and 2014 the RAAF operated three leased Herons from Kandahar which flew more than 27,000 hours on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in support of Australian and coalition ground operations.
It is noted that an unspecified number of Herons have been operated by Australian personnel on a lease arrangement from MacDonald Dettweiler & Associates, operating alongside Herons attached to Canadian units in Afghanistan. The Jerusalem Post has specified ten aircraft were involved.
On 28 October 2014 the lease of the RAAF IAI Herons was extended for a further six years until the introduction into service of the Northrop MQ-4C Triton. At the time of the announcement the RAAF operated three, two in Kandahar and a third at the Woomera Weapons Range, SA. One of the Kandahar machines was conveyed to Woomera late in 2014 where it was used for training and the development of tactics.
In 2015 a Heron was operated from Rockhampton Airport during ‘Exercise Talisman Sabre’, the aircraft being cleared to operate through civil airspace by Airservices Australia controllers.
In April 2016 the RAAF began operating the Heron from RAAF Base Amberley, QLD, for a ten day deployment, the first time it had been operated from a major Australian base. At that time two were in RAAF service to ensure unmanned aircraft skills and corporate knowledge were maintained.